EP239: Taipei Rumors — Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8 with Ilford Delta 400 Professional

Roll #239 — my favorite stretch of greater Taipei runs roughly between Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Shandao Temple MRT stations

Film: Ilford Delta 400 Professional
Developed & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2024/11/4
Camera: Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8

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Lately I've been reading through Taipei Rumors by photographer Juan I-Jong before bed — almost done with it. I have genuine admiration for his eye for Taiwanese society. This is the second book of his I've read; the first was People and the Land.

The biggest difference between the two: People and the Land contains many close portraits of early Taiwan, most of which were presumably taken with the subject's consent. Taipei Rumors covers similar territory, but most of the images aren't specifically focused on individual people — so the question of consent rarely applies.

Reading Taipei Rumors doesn't carry that unsettling feeling of looking at candid street shots taken without permission. What's also remarkable is how thoroughly Juan I-Jong reconstructs the context of each photograph in writing. His memory is extraordinary.

Both books are, to me, masterworks of Taiwanese humanist documentary photography.

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#1
The film box itself — probably at minimum focus distance.

 

#2
My phone home screen lately — stripped down, one page, four icons.

 

#3
The many expressions of daily life.

 

#4
That evening my son and I went to the park to look for toads. In the process I spotted a frog — didn't get the shot, too close. The light here is from a headlamp, not the Big mini's flash.

 

#5
Found a toad on the ground. Missed focus again.

 

#6
Our ecology teacher once mentioned that human body heat is too much for frogs and toads. When observing them, it's better to just hold down their back legs so they can't move, without gripping the whole body. Grabbing them fully can essentially burn them.

 

#7
My son and me, headlamps on, hunting for toads in the park grass after dark.

 

#8
First-person view of reading in bed.

 

#9
What I was reading around this time — Silent Kyoto by Amo Mookio.

 

#10
I basically rotate between three work locations: MOS Burger, McDonald's, and Q Burger. This day I was at a McDonald's, sitting at a two-person table that's really only comfortable for one.

 

#11
Bokeh test — the Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8 performs really well indoors at wide aperture.

 

#12
My phone wallpaper, and behind it on the computer screen — I was working on the redesign of my studio website (https://refine.tw/).

 

#13
One of my favorite things about shooting sky on film — the way the tones fade naturally toward the corners. Is that vignetting? Technically yes, but it doesn't look forced.

 

#14
About to cross the road. That day I'd ridden to Xindian to meet someone selling an iPhone 15 Pro — my wife's phone, which she sold to upgrade to an iPhone 16. She figured she wasn't using the Pro camera features anyway.

 

#15
Watching the Apple event at home — the closing credits genuinely stopped me. What could be more persuasive than that?

 

#16
An IKEA candle that supposedly smells like charcoal fire. Discontinued, unfortunately. Should have bought more when I had the chance.

 

#17
World peace. Always hoping.

 

#18
Birthday dinner — asked a staff member to take this one.

 

#19
A corner of the apartment.

 

#20
Tried to photograph an Asahi Dry again — misjudged the distance. Minimum focus is genuinely unforgiving; should have pulled back a little.

 

#21
An outdoor corridor on an office building — interesting design.

 

#22
The kind of prop that shows up in every crime drama interrogation room.

 

#23
Too dark for a self-portrait. Didn't work.

 

#24
When I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with skull imagery — a classic phase. This was shot at my son's English school; it's their Halloween decoration.

 

#25
National Taipei University of Technology — walked past it countless times, never actually been inside.

 

#26
Ko Shu-yuan — I grew up watching his dramas.

 

#27
Unusually sharp. This one surprised me.

 

#28
Exit countdown.

 

#29
Couldn't resist — saw the light and shot it.

 

#30
I genuinely can't remember the last time I used a coin payphone. I have a vague memory of the coin return door feeling very heavy.

 

#31
I buy newspapers not to read, but to use as packing material for shipping. A friend recommended the United Daily News for this purpose.

 

#32
Picked up a fossil excavation toy for my son — you chip away at the plaster and reassemble the skeleton inside.

 

#33
I often pull the camera out when it's just the two of us. This day I took him to Taipei City for his English class — it was raining and we were jumping in puddles under an umbrella.

 

That's the full roll — Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8 with Ilford Delta 400 Professional. Thanks for reading.